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Title
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Finding Aid for the Rorer Family Papers
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Collection Summary
Title
Rorer Family Papers
Date
1819 to 1934
Extent
5 archival folders
Name and Location of Repository
Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence (Mo.)
Reference code: MGC 1203-RFP
Processed by: Jolene Clark, 2019; finding aid created by Jolene Clark, 2019.
Name of Creator
Rorer Family
Biographical History
George Rorer was born in Ohio in August 1819. He married Samantha McCollum who was born on
December 12, 1831 in Ohio. The couple married in McHenry County, Illinois when Samantha was 16.
Together they had three sons: Clinton, Leonard George (Sam), and Frank. Clinton enlisted in Company H,
18th Illinois Cavalry during the Civil War and died from typhoid fever at the age of 16. Leonard
apprenticed with his uncle to learn the tinning trade. He and his brother Frank operated a hardware
business, Rorer Bros., in Clifton, Illinois. George too enlisted in the Civil War in the Colorado Territory.
He settled in Crandon, Wisconsin and married Mary who was almost 30 years younger than him. George
died about 1909 according to his pension record. Samantha remarried at the age of 39 to James Button.
She returned to McHenry County, Illinois after the death of her husband. She lived to the age of 102,
outliving her husbands and her children. At the time of her death she was believed to be the only Civil
War mother receiving a pension.
Scope and Content
The Rorer Family Papers consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, some biographical
information, a photograph, and miscellaneous papers relating to the Rorer and Thrasher family. Among
the items are two Civil War letters written by Clinton to his mother. Shortly after the letters were
written, Clinton died and a letter was written to Samantha notifying her of her son’s death. Other letters
are written on company stationery by her sons during the late 1800s. Obituaries give information about
the family as well as names of descendants.
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Collection Inventory
System of Arrangement
These records are arranged in 1 series.
Series 1, Rorer Family Papers
Folder 1, Correspondence
Item 1, undated Christmas post card
Item 2, undated, to Beverly from Fran
Item 3, undated from Sam Rorer to Leonard Rorer
Item 4, letter from Clinton D. Rorer, March 1864
Item 5, letter from Clinton D. Rorer, April 1864
Item 6, to Mrs. Royer re: death of son, Clinton, June 1864
Item 7, to wifie and babies from Sam, Oct 1882
Item 8, to wife Clara & Ella from Sam, Jun 1887
Item 9, to son Leonard from George Rorer, Oct 1899
Item 10, to father from Frank Rorer, Oct 1900
Item 11, to Eva Hilbourne from Clarence, Mar 1938
Folder 2, Biographies
Item 1, Handwritten biography of Leonard George Rorer (1850-1902)
Item 2, 2 copies of a handwritten biography of Ethel Winifred Rorer (born 1899) and
Clarence Gleason Rorer (born 1893)
Folder 3, Newspaper clippings
Item 1, obituary for L.G. Rorer, 1902
Item 2, “Celebrates her 102nd Birthday Anniversary”
Item 3, “Samantha Button dies here Sunday”
Item 4, “Hinds Family”
Item 5, marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Rorer
Folder 4, Misc.
Item 1, handwritten note from Grace
Item 2, Warranty deed L. G. Rorer, 1890
Folder 5, Ethel Winifred Rorer
Item 1, Photograph, Christmas 1915
Item 2, name card
Item 3, marriage certificate for C. O. Thrasher and Ethel W. Rorer
Item 4, Civil Service Commission, notification of personnel action for Frances L. Thrasher
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Rights and Access
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use by appointment.
Physical Access
Most records within this collection are housed within file folders.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Midwest Genealogy Center.
Languages and Scripts of the Material
Materials in the collection are entirely in English.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated anonymously.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected for this collection.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals owned by the Midwest Genealogy Center.
Notes
The following sources were consulted during the preparation of the biographical history:
Ancestry.com. United States Federal Census [database-on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations Inc., 2004.
National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to
Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
Rorer Family Papers
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